A/N: *in the voice of Professor Quirrell from the first film* "trolll on fanfiction, trolll on fanfiction. Thought you ought to know" *faints*. Trolls don't have quite the same affect on me as Professor Quirrell, but while I can't knock them out with their club, I can at least delete their comments. None of us need that kind of negativity in our lives, but sorry if you see any of their nasty messages before I've had a chance to clean up. It's sad that this is how some people get their jollies, but let's focus on what really matters, here's the next chapter x
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Chapter 5 - Welcome Visitors
With Harry and the others gone, life at number twelve was significantly quieter. Even Molly and Arthur had left for the Burrow, returning only for meetings now.
Sirius and Remus continued their work for the Order, going on any missions Dumbledore and Moody sent them on and doing what they could to gather information on what Voldemort was up to.
Sirius had some luck in recruiting 'truth believers'. A girl they'd been at Hogwarts with, Sylvie Smethwyck, whose father worked at St Mungo's, signed up for the Order alongside her friend Bessie Bagshot.
"Mary won't do it." Sylvie told them, sitting at Sirius' kitchen table as if it were her own and pouring them all drinks. "She doesn't want to get involved. I don't think she was really the same since… that happened."
There were two incidents that might have put Mary Macdonald off wanting to be involved with a fight against Voldemort's death eaters. The first was the time she'd been attacked by Mulciber and Avery in their fifth year, and the second, of course, was the death of her best friend.
"We should have volunteered for it last time round." Bessie said a little guiltily. "But we were just so young."
Remus remembered. It had only been just the four boys and Lily who had fought in the Order of the Phoenix from their year in the first war.
"We thought Lily was so brave for signing up." Sylvie said, her eyes filling with tears at the mention of her old friend. "But we'd like to help this time round. Any way we can."
Remus was sure the two girls could be helpful. Sylvie had completed her training at St Mungo's hospital, following in her father's footsteps, and Bessie had followed her parents into the ministry.
He wasn't sure how they'd fare with the actual defensive work. From memory neither of them had got brilliant grades in their defence against the dark arts exams, but the more people who were on their side and spreading their message the better. Both of them were well placed to do that.
"I've already told everyone I know of course." Sylvie said, now poking around in the pantry for snacks. "It's funny." She added, reappearing with a pack of cauldron cakes between her teeth. "No one seems very interested."
She closed the door to the pantry and came to sit back down, looking rather puzzled.
Remus saw Sirius smiling at her. He knew the two of them had a momentarily fling some time during their time at Hogwarts. It hadn't ended particularly well, but he still appeared fond of the bubbly blonde girl.
Sylvie caught him looking at her. "I don't get it." She said, seeming genuinely bewildered. "Wouldn't people rather know the truth?"
Sirius shrugged. "I guess not. I suppose to some people it just seems easier to support the death eaters. Or to stay silent. Which is… their choice I suppose." Remus knew he'd been about to say 'just as bad' but had stopped himself presumably to spare Sylvie's feelings.
"I know I was a coward." She said morosely. "I didn't exactly do much to help first time round. But if someone had asked me to…" she looked at Sirius and Remus. "Dumbledore never tried to recruit me for the Order."
Remus considered this. Why had Dumbledore asked he, Sirius, James, Peter and Lily to join and no one else? He supposed James and Sirius had made their intentions to fight death eaters clear from their second year of Hogwarts and had been actively badgering Dumbledore to join the Order since they'd discovered its existence in their sixth year. He supposed he and Lily had been asked as some of the top students in DADA, but why had he asked Peter…?
"I don't think any of us will ever understand the way Dumbledore's mind works." Remus smiled at her. "But what matters is right now. And we're so glad to have you."
It certainly seemed to cheer Sirius up, having younger company in the house again.
Without people around him at number twelve, he sunk quickly into despondency. Remus noticed it on several occasions. He'd be reading a book in the drawing room and would look up to see his friend staring blankly into space.
"Spotted a demiguise?" Remus asked him jokingly.
Sirius shook his head and gave Remus a reluctant grin. "Ruminating." He said. "I'll stop."
Remus suggested once or twice that they return to Godric's Hollow as it was clearly the house that was having this dark effect on him but Sirius shrugged him off.
"It's fine, Moony. I've survived it long enough already. And besides, we ought to stay at headquarters."
Fortunately, the frequent visitors helped a lot.
The following week, just as Sirius was feeling particularly infuriated (Harry had written to them complaining about some hag from the ministry Dumbledore had employed to teach DADA), his cousin Andromeda came to visit.
"Drommie!" Sirius grinned, hugging the woman and shaking the hand of the fair-haired man who was presumably Ted Tonks.
Andromeda flicked her dark brown hair back behind her shoulders. "Honestly Sirius, we're far too old for childish nicknames by now." She said primly, but spoiling the effect somewhat by grinning. "I hear you've been spending a lot of time with my daughter."
Remus found it quite strange that Tonks was this woman's daughter. Andromeda couldn't have been more than… six? Years older than themselves. That heavy feeling that lodged in his stomach sometimes at the thought of Nymphadora returned at the realisation. He was so much older than her.
"She's great, Tonks." Sirius said, leading Andromeda and Ted into the kitchen and opening some wine for them all. "Though why in Merlin's name you gave her a daft name like Nymphadora…"
Andromeda fixed him with a disdainful look through her dark, hooded eyes.
"Oh leave her alone." Ted said in his genial, Northern lilt. "Mmm, good stuff, this." He said, taking a sip of wine and examining the bottle appreciatively.
"My aunt and uncle always had the best of everything." Andromeda said, tossing her dark hair again. "I must say I'm surprised you moved back in here." She told Sirius. "I thought you were glad to be shot of the place."
"I am and was." Sirius said emphatically. "But it's useful having the headquarters in London, and someone should be around to meet visitors."
"Hmm." Andromeda said, pursing her lips slightly as she sipped her own goblet.
"You don't approve of what we're doing here?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow at the woman.
"I don't understand why Nymphadora can't just work for the ministry. At least there she'll be protected. Where are the regulations in this… Order… exactly?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You disappoint me Andromeda, really you do. What's the use of any organisation with regulations when we're fighting Voldemort? That's why Dumbledore set up the Order in the first place, because the ministry's sodding useless. It takes about a decade to get them to agree on anything. Voldemort will have fled the country by the time they finally locate his whereabouts."
"I wish you'd stop saying that name." Ted Tonks said with a small shudder. "Dora's always at it too. You'll get yourselves in trouble one of these days you lot will."
"But you support what she's doing?" Sirius asked the blond man.
"Oh aye." Ted said, smiling. "Our Dora's going to make us all proud. But still, a little caution never goes amiss."
They veered away from conversation about the Order after that. It was clear that Andromeda and Ted, while supportive of their daughter, still didn't like hearing the details of the work, and so they discussed more everyday matters instead.
"We're quite comfortable." Andromeda smiled at Remus who had asked where the two of them were living these days. He remembered hearing of how Andromeda and Ted had eloped in the boys' second year. According to Sirius the two of them had gone into hiding to avoid retribution from Andromeda's family for marrying a muggleborn. What was wrong with them all?!
"It's really Bellatrix who was the biggest threat and fortunately she's in Azkaban now. You must have seen her come in." She added, turning to Sirius who nodded.
"Yeah." He said, his eyes far away. Remus knew he didn't like being reminded of his time in Azkaban.
The conversation continued pleasantly enough from there. Though Remus liked the Tonks, Ted in particular was exceptionally friendly, he still felt somewhat uneasy around Andromeda.
Though, like her cousin Sirius, she appeared to harbour none of her family's pureblood ideals, there was still an aloofness and haughtiness about her that made her seem somewhat intimidating.
"Well, goodbye." She said, getting to her feet and offering him her hand. She was almost as tall as he was, though this could perhaps have been her high heels.
"Bye." Remus said, reciprocating the handshake.
"Oh don't be so stuck up." Sirius said, punching his cousin playfully on the arm. "Come back any time." He added, throwing an arm around her shoulders as he led her and Ted to the front door.
"Take care of our Dora." Ted said on the threshold. Remus and Sirius both promised that they would.
"Well, that's that." Sirius said, dusting his hands as though he'd just despatched an enemy when the door was closed.
"She's not very much like you." Remus said, thinking of Andromeda.
Sirius grinned. "You just have to get to know her. She's got a real devious side underneath all the airs and graces."
Remus would have to take his word for it. To him she appeared absolutely nothing like her fun, feisty daughter.
Fortunately, Nymphadora was a more frequent visitor than her parents, as were Sylvie and Bessie, and, when he wasn't looking after the kids, Sylvie's husband.
"Nice bloke." Sirius said unconvincingly after the man had left.
The two had married shortly after their graduation. Remus remembered him from being a year or two above them in Ravenclaw.
"What about you, Bessie?" Sirius asked, turning to her friend. "Any men on the scene?"
"Women, Black." Bessie said, rolling her eyes slightly. "I mean, wasn't it always obvious?!"
Remus and Sirius exchanged a blank look.
Bessie sighed. "To answer your question, no. And quite frankly I'm sick of being asked. Can't a woman in her thirties have anything more interesting to talk about than who she is or isn't dating?"
Neither of them appeared to have a good answer to that either.
They kept in regular correspondence with Harry who, Sirius was proud and Remus was dismayed to learn, had been given a week's worth of detentions from his DADA teacher, Professor Umbridge.
"She's a total nightmare!" Harry said hotly one night as he visited them in the fire. "And she's clearly only there because Dumbledore couldn't get anyone else to do the job and Fudge forced her on us."
"I expect you're right." Remus said sympathetically. "What did she give you detention for?"
"For telling the truth." Harry said which made Sirius laugh.
"But…" he trailed off slightly and both men looked at him concernedly. "That's not how she sees it. Er… this is what she's making me do."
Sirius swore loudly as Harry showed them the back of his hand and the words etched into his skin there - I must not tell lies.
"That evil -" And he called Umbridge something that made Remus frown at him. Harry was only fifteen after all.
"She can't do that!" He protested hotly. "Dumbledore wouldn't allow it."
"Please don't say anything!" Harry said quickly. "You'll only make it worse. And… I really don't want Dumbledore to be involved."
Remus and Sirius looked at one another. Remus knew Hogwarts had odd rules sometimes. They'd sent students into the forbidden forest for detentions and there had been one very memorable occasion where Professor McGonagall, sick and tired of their group's rule-breaking, had made them take a group of Professor Kettleburn's blast ended skrewts for a walk around the quidditch pitch. There had been no small amount of burns. But surely even Dumbledore would draw the line at this.
"I wouldn't have said anything." Harry said quietly. "Only… I know you know what it's like." He was looking at Sirius now who nodded.
"Yeah, it's not pleasant." He said quietly, and Remus felt his heart break again at this latest revelation. What awful things hadn't Sirius experienced growing up?
"I'll owl you some murtlap essence. You'll need to dilute it first but it does help a lot." He told him.
"Thanks." Harry said. "It stings like a…"
"Bludger." Sirius supplied. "I know."
Despite Harry's asking him not to, Sirius did in fact go and speak to Dumbledore about the nature of the detentions Harry was receiving from Umbridge.
"He was about as useful as a chocolate cauldron." His friend said angrily on his return. "He said he'll speak to Umbridge but there's nothing in the ministry guidelines specifically ruling out what she's doing. I mean, doesn't he have the ultimate authority here as headmaster?!"
"I think he's treading cautiously with the ministry at the moment." Remus said. "He's probably just trying to pick his battles with them."
They continued to check in with Harry over the weeks that followed. He was still getting in trouble with Professor Umbridge, and Sirius was continuing to send up essence of murtlap, but some good news was that Ron had made it onto the Gryffindor quidditch team.
"He's brilliant." Harry insisted on telling them the news. "He just needs to know it for himself."
Remus smiled. "Yes, I can imagine growing up with Fred and George didn't do wonders for his self confidence."
Something slightly more concerning however were the dreams Harry seemed to be having at an increasingly regular occurrence.
"I'm just sick of staring at it and nothing happening." Harry told them as he described the door he kept seeing in his sleep.
Remus and Sirius didn't know what to make of it.
"It's not too concerning." Dumbledore reassured them as they voiced their own worries to the man one evening. But Remus still got the distinct feeling the headmaster wasn't telling them the whole story.
Some time during the school term, Mundungus Fletcher arrived at headquarters with some interesting news.
"A defence association." He relayed to a grinning Sirius and anxious Remus. "Potter's the leader and then there were… All the Weasley kids, that Hermione girl, and at least a dozen or so others."
"Brilliant." Sirius said, but Mrs Weasley, who was also at headquarters, had quite another thing to say on the matter.
"She worries too much." Ron complained as Sirius passed on the message to him through the fireplace. "And she can't ban me from joining if Harry's still doing it. How would that be fair?"
"He took on board every word." Sirius told Mrs Weasley the next time she came round.
Sirius followed Harry's DA progress eagerly in the weeks that followed. He was pleased to learn they'd found a place to practice, and he and Harry met every so often in the fire to discuss possible spells he might want to consider learning.
Though Molly still disapproved, as far as Sirius was concerned, Harry and the others learning to defend themselves properly was a very good thing. And, as their ex-DADA teacher, Remus couldn't help but agree.
...
A/N: I know I've really not done Andromeda Tonks justice in this chapter, and I will make sure she appears again so we can get to know her a bit better! I also stole the idea of Ted's northern accent from Stephen Fry's brilliant audiobook narrations. I just can't hear him or Tonks talking any other way now!